[2013 Committee Note]

2013 Note by the Committee on Civil Rules of Procedure for Limited Jurisdiction Courts Justice court lawsuits usually conclude in one of three ways: (1) Often after a complaint is filed and served, the defendant does not file an answer, and a default judgment is entered. (2) At other times, the defendant files an answer to a complaint, but the parties settle at an early stage of the lawsuit, either by entry of a judgment or by dismissal of the lawsuit. (3) In a smaller number of cases, after a defendant files an answer to the complaint, the parties ask the judge to decide the case by motion, or the lawsuit goes to trial, and the judge then enters a judgment. The table below shows those three categories, and the rules that generally apply in each of these three situations. The table may assist parties in finding many of the rules that apply to their individual lawsuit. Usually, the longer a lawsuit proceeds, the more rules apply. ​